Computational Strategy for Analyzing Effective Properties of Random Composites—Part II: Elasticity

We suggest a novel strategy in the theory of elastic plane composites. The macroscopic properties are quantified, and an analytical–numerical algorithm to derive expressions for the effective constants is designed. The effective elastic constants of dispersed random composites are given by new analytical and approximate formulas where the dependence on the location of inclusions is explicitly shown in symbolic form. This essentially extends the results of previous numerical simulations for a fixed set of material constants and fixed locations of inclusions. This paper extends the analysis from Part I, which addressed dispersed random conducting composites, to the two-dimensional elastic composites. Hill’s concept of Representative Volume Element (RVE), traditionally used in elastic composites, is revised. It is rigorously demonstrated that the RVE must be a fundamental domain of the plane torus, for instance, a periodicity parallelogram, since other shapes of RVE may lead to incorrect values of the effective constants. The effective tensors of the elasticity theory are decomposed into geometrical and physical parts, represented by structural sums and material constants of the components. Novel computational methodology based on such decomposition is applied to a two-phase isotropic composite with non-overlapping circular inclusions embedded in an elastic matrix. For the first time, it is demonstrated explicitly how the effective tensors depend on the geometric probabilistic distributions of inclusions and the computational protocols involved. Analytical polynomial formulas for the effective shear modulus for the moderate concentration of inclusions are transformed using the resummation methods into practical expressions valid for all concentrations of inclusions. The critical index for the effective shear modulus is calculated from the polynomials derived for the modulus.